Book #47 of 2017: The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (The Queen of the Tearling #1) This post-apocalyptic fantasy was a little bit underbaked, but I still enjoyed it for the most part. (It helps to have a protagonist whose first act as queen is to storm in Daenerys-like, freeing a bunch of …
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Book #46 of 2017: The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail – But Some Don’t by Nate Silver The prose is sometimes lacking (and the baseball sections could not have been more boring), but FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver writes an easy-to-follow introduction to the science of analysis and prediction. It’s less of a …
Book #45 of 2017: Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance An outstanding memoir of life in rural Appalachia at the turn of the 21st century. A lot has been said about this book inadvertently offering insight into the angry voters who swept Donald Trump into office, but …
Book #44 of 2017: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books #1) I loved the atmosphere at the beginning of this novel, all dark and gothic and promising of mysteries hidden in forgotten libraries. And I especially liked Zafón’s descriptions of what it’s like to fall in love …
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Book #43 of 2017: Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer An infuriating and depressing account of how the super-wealthy have quietly influenced popular discourse through the funding of think tanks and campaign contributions to bring about policies protecting their own wealth and business …
Book #42 of 2017: Six Earlier Days by David Levithan I loved David Levithan’s novel Every Day about a teenage entity who wakes up each morning in a different body, but this prequel just didn’t do it for me. I think the intent was to showcase how A adopted their principles and grew to be …
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Book #41 of 2017: Get in Trouble by Kelly Link An overall solid short story collection, although I think I would have liked it more if the stories had been more focused on their fantastic elements. Most of this collection could be classified as either sci-fi or fantasy (especially if you include superheroes and ghosts …
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Book #40 of 2017: When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi A heartbreaking memoir of a neurosurgeon dying from lung cancer at age 36, published after he ultimately succumbed to the disease. As a doctor, Paul Kalanithi is clear-eyed about his diagnosis and his low chances for survival, and his quiet acceptance of these facts …
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Book #39 of 2017: Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children #1) Seanan McGuire isn’t the first author to wonder what happens to the children who have visited a fantasy world after their return, but she brings a rare warmth to this story of a boarding school built to shelter such travelers. McGuire’s …
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Book #38 of 2017: This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab (Monsters of Verity #1) Author Victoria Schwab has described this story as “Romeo and Juliet minus romance plus monsters,” and that’s actually not a bad summary. Kate and August are from rival ruling families under an uneasy truce dividing up their city, but when the …
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